Container-treatment installations are known, such as, by way of example, installations for filling and closing containers, and possibly also for previously washing and rinsing containers, or indeed sterilizing containers. Such installations have a plurality of rotary platforms that are fitted with container holder devices and that are located adjacent to one another so as to define a travel path for the containers through the corresponding installation. Each holder device is arranged to take hold of the body or the rim of a container in order to hold the container during movement of the corresponding platform.
By way of example, there exist holder devices in the form of clamps comprising a stationary jaw and a movable jaw hinged to the stationary jaw via a pivot pin so that the movable jaw pivots between an open position and a position for closing the holder device. The opening of the holder device is usually controlled by a wheel secured to the movable jaw, which wheel co-operates with a cam secured to the corresponding platform.
Installing cam paths is relatively constraining and makes the structure of the installation more complex.
Furthermore, it is necessary to clean container-treatment installations regularly, in particular installations used for packaging foodstuffs.
Nevertheless, it has been found that dirt and other impurities tend to accumulate on the cam and the wheel. Unfortunately, those parts are difficult to clean because they are difficult of access, in particular when the holder device is fastened to the bottom portion of the corresponding platform.
In particular, certain installations are fitted with a cleaning circuit provided with nozzles for spraying a cleaning solution onto the various parts of the installation. Nevertheless, that cleaning circuit is ineffective for cleaning wheel-and-cam systems of holder devices and the associated platforms without using a large number of nozzles that are aimed specifically at said wheel-and-cam systems.
That drawback is particularly disadvantageous if the treatment installation is used in the agrifood business where hygiene standards are particularly strict.